The company said Guinea well 15/13b-8 was spudded on February 26 by the semi-submersible rig Borgsten Dolphin operated by Nexen Petroleum (UK).
The planned total depth of the oil well is about 2150m, expected to take about 20 days.
Elixir said 15/13b-8 is targeting a Palaeocene prospect in the Balmoral sandstone with significant oil potential.
The two farminees, Nexen and Gas Plus Italiana SpA, will be funding the cost of the well to earn interests of 50% and 12.5%, respectively, in the 15/13b block.
Elixir has a 13.125% interest in the block and its share of the well costs is being fully-carried by Nexen and Gas Plus.
Located about 20km northeast of the Piper oil field, the prospect lies in about 150m of water and is a robust, four-way, dip-closed Palaeocene structure that lies on trend with fields such as Balmoral and Dumbarton.
On an unrisked basis, the Guinea structure is estimated to host potential resources of between 65 million (low case) and 120 million (high case) barrels of oil on Block 15/13b if hydrocarbons are present, with a mid-case estimate of 91MMbbl.
